JEFFERSON CITY — Sen. Bill Eigel wants to create the Interstate 70 Improvement Fund.

Eigel, R-Weldon Spring, presented SB 317 to the Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee Wednesday.

The bill proposes annual deposits into the fund: 2% of Missouri’s general revenue collections and, when there is a general revenue fund surplus in excess of $4 billion, up to $1.5 billion. Deposits would be made every year through August 2033.

Funds would be used only for I-70 improvements and maintenance.

Eigel said in an interview after the hearing, "I envision hopefully trying to put a billion or $2 billion into that fund, either through the surpluses that we have right now or through some combination of future revenues that would be dedicated to going into that fund. And ultimately, if you tie that together with some federal matching funds that we can access in the coming years, that should be enough to get an I-70 that’s either three lanes in either direction or if we want to be really proactive four lanes in either direction."

Eigel explained that the creation of a dedicated I-70 fund would help the Missouri Department of Transportation make long-term plans for expanding the interstate corridor independent of the legislature’s annual budget process.

“Think of it as a place where we could set money aside without it coming up for reconsideration each year and being politicized each year by the legislature when they go into a new budget discussion.”

A number of lawmakers in both chambers have publicly voiced frustration with MoDOT during this year’s legislative session.

Eigel said the frustration stems from the legislature’s lack of oversight and control.

“We don't really have a good way to influence what MoDOT is doing in the first place, even though we have constituents who are calling us each day saying, when are you going to take care of that bottleneck?”

Eigel’s plan is an approach to implementing Gov. Mike Parson’s $859 million funding proposal to expand I-70 lanes in the major population centers of St. Louis, Kansas City and Columbia. Parson proposed tapping the current state budget surplus to provide the funds for the expansion effort.

Last year, Eigel announced plans to explore a bid for governor, though he has not formally declared his intention to run.